eleveneleven

@Fx_Donkey Congrats on the 250. 23k miles, wow sounds like a good find. 👍 remember to get your Calipers when you can and have the slide pins greased if you haven't already 

I bought a leather cleaning kit from Halfords last summer.

I made the mistake of not rubbing the cream into the cloth properly, it got stuck between the tiny holes in the leather. It's pretty much impossible to get out once its in. I'm left with circular stain on drivers side which looks like I've pi$$ed myself🤦‍♂️ 😒

Looks much worse in person 🤦‍♂️

On 2/12/2022 at 10:24 AM, Yorkie740 said:

A lot of people who have very little experience with the 220 will tell you a lot of things..

my experience of owning one for the past 7 years and putting over 80.000 miles on it is.

 

DPF and EGR delete with a leto performance ECU gets rid of all your problems! 230bhp with 500nm of torque with no turbo lag feels great! 

 

And I have never got this clunky gear change thing people say...the gear change feels firm and assured maybe I'm just used to a more sportier car compared to other people I'm guessing people don't like to feel the gear actually going in.

 

And when it comes to any head problems if you actually speak to any experienced Lexus engineers the actually is a very little amount of them that had any head gasket issues it's just well-publicised you get this with a lot of car models afew of them have a problem and people make out every single car that came off the production line has the problem when in reality it's a very little amount of them.

 

In all the time I have had mine I have only heard of 3 needing a head gasket and let's be honest these cars are that old if they were going to have a problem they would have had it and been fixed by now

 

 

You're probably right but the 250 is still the better car overall. Has much fewer issues mechanically, has a much better gearbox/gear ratios, and similar fuel economy, without having to make any adjustments to ECU, remove parts etc.  

Just makes more sense to go for the 250 if one is considering a IS. If diesel is a must there's more reliable, more fuel efficient options out there, Honda Accord  D-tec for example.  

Totally disagree about the gearbox though it's Awful IMO shaky as hell at idle feels like something you'd get in a Van. Drive a Gen7 Honda accord you'll see how a manual should feel.  

 

56 minutes ago, Malc said:

and it's only the indy garage that services the sliders etc on the calipers ............ it's never on the Service Schedule with the Main Dealer I understand ....  they'd rather replace the whole when it seizes up and fails the MOT  !

Malc

of course I might be wrong nowadays ....  anyone else know ?

Correct Malc,  well known issue that's not looked at in either servicing schedule, but I'm sure they'll happily remove and fit new ones for you when they seize up... for a small fee 🤣

17 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

No, because service schedule states "every 1 year, or every 10,000 miles, whichever comes fist". That means because your car 14 years old, you should have 14 stamps. And to be honest book has place to stamp it up-to 240,000 miles if I am not mistaken, but the key point here is that Lexus only has service schedule up-to 100,000miles/10 years. After that you can repeat the cycle again, but there is no official service for 110,000 or 120,000, so it no longer matter. You can come at 120,000 and say do me a 60,000 service (it would actually be appropriate, because you need spark plugs and water-pump in 60,000 intervals), or you can ask for 20,000 service...

Ahh ok I get you. 👍 

@wharfhouse I'll be digging my heels in on this one, fingers crossed I get a result. will keep you posted 

35 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

Well... it isn't really a mistake. You can go and get yourself essential minor for £180 even thought it would seem you need major and they would simply stamp your book and say service was done on this date at X miles. They really only care to get correct service whilst the cars is under warranty and whilst it is within official Lexus service schedule, so basically up-to 100k miles. After that order doesn't really matter and they won't pay much attention.

In my case it was simple - I came for full service and I believe it was £340, they did the service and said ... "actually, would you be interested in service plan" and I am like, "tell me about it" and they basically tried to upsell me, but it made sense - "so the guy said, you can pay £340 now, or we can add minor service or you next year and add the discount... and that will be like £400"... and I was like "yeah sure, because the difference was very small between just major and major + minor".And he came back few minutes later and say it will actually be ~£420 or 440, so it was good deal. But this was obviously before Lexus Relax. 

Cars only done 83k so I'm assuming it would still be within the Lexus service schedule? 

I'll be asking about this 10 Year Plus Extended Warranty not holding my breath though...

I remembered earlier that there were a few additional papers in the booklet along with my receipt from my last Lexus Visit just had a browse and it looks to be the Essential care offer 😀

They're asking for £745 which will cover 3 years of servicing, 2 minors & 1 major. £180+£375+£180 = £735 (£245 per year) but a £10 loss overall

Looks like they've made an error though as last service was a minor so it should actually be major/minor/major which would work out at 375+180+375 = £930 (£310 per year) £185 saving based on current prices. 

It also sates that for every service carried out by Lexus they'll give me a 12 month/ 10k mile warranty sounds good but sadly doesn't apply to my car as is over 10. 😒

So not really worth it for me unless they'd be willing to give me a major/minor/major service deal at £745 along with the Warranty...

Attached a pic of what you get for each service too for those that don't know. 

8 minutes ago, wharfhouse said:

When the new Relax warranty came in (10 years / 100K miles) the old Extended Warranty was discontinued, but a new 10 Year Plus Extended Warranty was established for cars that were over 10 years old but under 15 years old or were over 100K miles but under 150K miles. When my 2014 reg IS 300h went over 100K miles I took this out as have others (it's an annual policy, includes full roadside assistance, has pretty much the same T&Cs as the old Extended Warranty and cost me under £500 - the car has to be serviced at Lexus dealer throughout the warranty period). Your dealer should have known about this, my dealer was certainly up to speed about it when I enquired. 

Thanks mate, didn't know that, My car just about qualifies then with it being 14. 😃 Not a bad price either to be fair

Thanks for the input guys much appreciated.  

Certainly pros/cons to each as you've all pointed out. but The current price Lexus are asking for a Major service along with the additional convenience of a hire car and not having to source parts is a very tempting proposition albeit slightly more expensive. I know how stealerships operate and I wont be paying for anything more than a service despite what they find. 

@Linas.P £400 for 2 services is amazing value, I'll be having a chat with someone about this essential care whilst I'm there. Car was with Lexus a few months back for a gearbox drain, I asked if they could offer me the extended warranty. I made the case that it's only Lexus who have touched the car so far... they weren't having any of it.🤣 🤦‍♂️

Anyway thanks again everyone, I'll let you know what car they give me 😃

The 250 is due a service. (MY 08, 83K Miles)

this car has wanted for nothing mechanically, Its had a Full service history with Lexus so far from the 2 previous owners along with the extended warranty. Looking at the paperwork pretty much everything that's needed fixing/ replacing has been done by Lexus. 

so I'm just thinking out loud here, reviewing my options. 

A. Take it to Lexus: Lexus Bolton want £360 for a Major Service: The priciest option but certainly not the end of the world. They'll do what's required, use genuine parts and I get another Lexus stamp in the book. (and they'll give me something to drive for an extra twenny quid)

B. Take it to my local mechanic: I've been taking mine and the other half's cars to them for a while now, great bunch of guys, old school, honest and hard working. They'll get the job done at a better price but i'd have to supply the parts.

C. Find an independent specialist. They appear to be extremely thin on the ground here (I live just outside of Manchester) 
will be a hassle to find one but i'm going to assume they'll do just as good a job as any main dealer and i'd then have a specialist to hand should any issues occur later down the line. 

Doing it myself would be the ideal solution, I have the space but I'm terrible with a spanner, and I barely have time for anything else that's not work family related so not an option at the moment unfortunately. 

Is it worth it to keep the "Full Lexus service history" thing going?  I'm not particularly bothered about the Lexus stamp, I'm guessing it wont make much if any difference to the value at this point and I plan on keeping it for another 2 years at least. Would I be somewhat correct in thinking that if something major did go wrong with the car down the line I'd have some bargaining power with Lexus as it's only been looked after by them? 

What are key differences between a Minor and Major Service? would it be better to go with option B or C for the minors and let Lexus handle the Majors? 

Any thoughts/advice welcome 

thanks guys

Lee 

The Back boxes hang a little too much for my liking, makes zero difference to the way it drives it's just not very nice (at all) to look at. 

Just wondering can this be rectified somehow so the backbox cant be seen as much and exhaust tips fit a little better into the cutouts on the bumpers? 

Is it a simple fix or would I need to start looking at OEM parts? 

thanks 

Interesting about the fuel, I use Shell V power exclusively and it runs/shifts just fine, the only gear I can actually feel once warm is 5th to 6th.

BP is actually the closer station to me but never really considered using their premium stuff, cant see it making any difference but I'll try it on the next fill up...

Take it to Lexus for a Gearbox drain and Fill, costs around £180, makes a noticeable difference to the way the gearbox behaves. 

4 hours ago, ahmed-abrar said:

nice looking example, btw is the boot lip available as an add on ?

Yes, I've seen them being sold on Ebay 

Entertaining to watch but Crazy how nothing has been done about this road. 

Is it just ground clearance/traction (and a little luck) that separates the cars that can easily drive through water like this or is there more to it?

21 minutes ago, HoofHearted said:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202112300901767?advertising-location=at_cars&price-to=6500&postcode=g445la&model=IS 250&page=1&radius=200&make=Lexus&include-delivery-option=on&sort=relevance
 

just posting this in the off chance anybody on here had been to see this and could save me a 6 hour round trip if it’s one to avoid? 

Looks Good. MOT history looks A1 too.  

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175108426265 - This one might be worth a look, it's Cream leather but not too far from where you are. 

Had a look at the MOT history, looks fine but there's an advisory for a small exhaust leek 2 years running. Could use that to get a decent discount. 

I've driven the IS220D (manual) if its the same gearbox the Manual in these feels like something you'd get in a van quite sloppy, doesn't feel sporty or luxurious. Only advantage (if you're not going to be drifting it) is that you have access to all the cars power when you want it. The auto likes to shuffle through the gears as quickly as possible. 

The auto does has a manual gear change function via the gearstick or paddles on the steering wheel. It's not great to be honest, gearbox is a little slow to react and it'll still change gears automatically at higher revs but it's an option if you need it or just fancy a change sometimes. There's also a switch (PWR) that makes the car hold gears for longer. 

and as pointed out, less maintenance on the auto, and cheaper to tax.

OP: Have you considered a GS300? bigger car, slightly bigger engine (similar fuel economy to 250) but a more comfortable ride overall. Insurance costs should be pretty much the same (£10 difference for me) same VED cost as a manual 250.  

The Oldham lot have used that generic background for the car pics, from personal experience that's never a good sign, so like Mr Vlad said, be cautious. 

One in Cheadle looks good. Mods have been added though by the sounds of it so do your checks. 

Good Luck. 

13 hours ago, Thelongterm said:

The service history is still there on the mylexus site but you first have to add your car.

once added:

Click to login, go to my vehicles, select your car, select vehicle information, service history.

ahh yes I see it now, thanks mate much appreciated. 👍 

Scotty must have woken up on the wrong side of bed that day, usually he's all grins and giggles when anything Toyota is involved. 

I saw the car I'm guessing you went to look at on Autotrader (silver 08 plate??) 

Looked ok from the pics too. The things some dealers try and get away with eh 🤦‍♂️

Did the dealer mention it had been in an accident? 

I've not heard anything bad about the manuals.

Cant see anything in your area on AutoTrader or the others, looks like you'll have to do some travelling...

On the plus side you'll be able to get an SE-L (top spec) with the budget you have. As always do your checks and have a good read of the What to look out for - Lexus IS250 thread. Keep an eye on the buyers and sellers corner here too, I believe there's a 250 on there now which looks tidy, have no idea where it is though..

Anyone know if this still works? signed up to myLexus, registered my car but cant seem to find the option to look at previous history.

Hey Graeme,  I Don't know of anyone but I will (and I'm sure other members will too) keep an eye out for you 

We're going to need more meat on the bone... 

What's your budget? 

What model would you prefer? (SR, SE, Advance, SE-i, SE-L, F-sport, etc) Any features that you must have? 

Any colour, age or gearbox preference? (bare in mind that IS250's made before 2008 can't take E10 fuel and a manual gearbox is slightly more expensive to tax) 

You definitely wont be disappointed with the 300h, my father in law had one for 4 years. Great cars smooth as silk just like the 250 but with better fuel economy. It would be my choice if I was in the market for a newer car. 

Roll on Saturday. 😃

According to the receipts Costco could be to blame, all 4 Dunlop's were purchased and fitted by them prior to my ownership, Not sure if the owner had them swapped at any point though

Quite surprised Lexus didn't pick it up when it was with them a few months ago, they sent me an inspection video and tried to sell me new front tyres amongst other things but didn't mention anything about the sizes. Typical stealership mentality 🤦‍♂️

I have it booked in first thing tomorrow to get them swapped around. Thanks again guys for the heads up. I'll see how it feels after the swap before I commit to buying new tyres.